Positano, Ravello and the Amalfi Coast

Positano is a small town on the Amalfi coast of Italy.  If you're looking at the map of Italy, it's essentially the laces on the boot.  I ended up squatting at a friend's 5-star hotel and had such an amazing time.

The hotel was called La Sirenuse (http://www.sirenuse.it).  It was absolutely amazing and the facilities were pristine.  From the view, to the customer service and all the way down to the Michelin starred restaurant, we had an amazing time.

The bedroom

The seating area in my friend's room

The pool deck

The Facade 

Lovely ambiance for breakfast at La Sponda restaurant

Honestly, I feel that all I did in Positano is eat and drink.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  Everything I ate and every place we went were top notch.  We started off at a restaurant called, Chez Black (http://www.chezblack.it) for a slice of pizza and a bottle of wine....the perfect way to start a vacation.

For dinner, we started off with a bottle of Masseto on the balcony of the Champagne and Oyster Bar.  With this view, there was really no way to go wrong.

This was a ridiculous sunset

yes, I'm definitely tipsy here.

La Sponda converts to a Michelin 1-Star restaurant by night

As day turned to night, we changed clothes and headed to La Sponda in the hotel for dinner.  La Sponda has over 400 candles lit that create an atmosphere that is matched only by the quality of their cuisine.   All of their food is based on local, fresh ingredients and stays true to the Mediterranean region.  My friend and I were spoiled with a bottle of my favorite Bordeaux, Chateau Margaux.  It was truly a special night full of surprises and delicious food.

Don't mind if I do....

We paired $3000 worth of wine with Michelin rated food....that was so rich and delicious, it was unbelievable.

Lamb ravioli with black truffles on top

Veal 3 ways...

DAY 2:
I wasn't sure it could get any better than the first day, but I wrong.  We had a huge day planned.  For breakfast, we at La Sponda since it was convenient....not too shabby, a Michelin 1-Star for breakfast.

Breakfast = 1 Michelin Star

For lunch we decided to step it up a notch with a 2 Michelin Star restaurant, Rossellinis, at the Palazzo Avino hotel (http://www.palazzoavino.com/en/Dining/Rossellinis) in Ravello.  The grounds for this hotel were almost as impressive as their food.  I was in awe at how nicely manicured everything was...

The view from our table

The bees loved this bread, we had to move it to another table

Amuse Bouche, compliments of the chef.  Caprese Salad

Mediterranean Salad for starters...

Lamb Ragu Rigatoni

Sea Bass for my entree 

Lemon Cake for dessert

Poached Peach dessert

We washed it all down with a bottle of Gaja...

Amalfi Coastline

Vagabond hitting a lucky streak...

This hotel was glorious. I'm not sure how else to describe it.  The ceilings were even painted in a styles similar to the museums I have been visiting.

After lunch, they let us in through a gate to tour the grounds and check out the pool. We walked up these beautiful steps...

Through this garden...

To the rooftop infinity pool...

Seriously?  Pinch me now.  Is this place for real??

On the way down, we accidentally got locked in and had to get rescued by our driver, Salvatore!

For dinner, we went to my new favorite restaurant of all time... Don Alfonso Restaurant (http://www.donalfonso.com/travel/en/haute_cuisine_restaurant.htm).  But first, we polished off another bottle of Masseto at the Champagne and Oyster bar.  God forbid we go to dinner without an aperitif.

A gift to my friend.  A small token for such grand generocity.

Ah shit...we forgot it at the restaurant.  #fail

Don Alfonso Restaurant is amazingly cute.  Here is a short video describing the restaurant, their philosophy, standards and how they acquire their products.

Why do I love this place?
1. It is a family-run restaurant. Their son, Mario manages it (I think), their son, Ernesto, is the head chef; mom, Livia runs the show and dad, Alfonso started it all off. This restaurant feels so well run and so clean from the moment you walk in. The entire restaurant is a sterile white.  Everything is white marble from the floors to the walls and columns too.
2. They have their own farm that supplies the restaurant with veggies and meat that are beyond fresh.   They fish daily for the restaurant and only cook what they catch.
3. They stay true to the mediterranean diet and cook within that theme, which is my favorite.

Aside from the food, I absolutely adored that their accent color was bubblegum pink.  They had 2 banquettes that were tucked into each corner that were completely painted pink.  All of the chairs in the restaurant were floral pink and they had floral pink ottomans to put your purse or cell phone on so you didn't have to put them on the floor.  A-MAZING.

My purse's "chair"

My Chair

We got prime seating.  We sat right in front of the kitchen window.  We could see all of the kitchen action all night long.  It was like a symphony back there. No one was spilling, bumping each other or fighting, they were all cooperating and at the end of the night, there were no stains on any of the chef's clothes.  This was so far from any Hell's Kitchen episode I have ever seen, it is not even funny.  Gordon Ramsay should take note.

Kitchen view!

Since my friend has been to this restaurant before, he convinced me to just let them bring out whatever they wanted. We ordered another bottle of Chateau Margaux and waited anxiously for all 8 courses to join us at our table. The theme for this evening....truffles.

Amuse Bouche: Truffle 3 ways.  Truffle mouse, fried truffle and some other truffle creation.

Course 2: Baked sea bass with black truffles

Course 2: black truffle lasagna

Course 3: Duck medallion

Course 4: Black truffle risotto

Course 5: Black truffle and lamb ravioli

Course 6: Volcano.  This was rigatoni pasta tee-pee stacked like a volcano, so when you ate it, it collapsed elegantly and revealed 3 small meatballs in the center.

Course 7: Fillet medallion. It was kind of like beef wellington, but with the most succulent beef ever. It honestly melted in your mouth.  I think the sauces were a beet puree and a vegetable puree

Course 8: Lemon dessert for me

Course 8: chocolate 3 ways for my friend

Each course that came out was richer and more delicious than the previous. And it just kept coming!  Since we had told them to bring us whatever they felt like, we had no idea how many courses were coming. But I can tell you, that we were full after the risotto. With each completed course, the table was fully cleared and new silverware was placed on the table.  My anxiety kept growing with each replacement of the silverware for fear of what amazing creation I would have to consume next since there was no way in hell I was turning anything away. All I could think of was how sorry I was for the dishwasher and also I how much I was dreading the new silverware for fear that they would put down a knife which meant it was meat and not dessert coming out. It became a joke. It was all so delicious I didn't want it to end, but I physically could not put anything else in my stomach. So, needless to say, when dessert was finally served, we were both relieved...but we both continued to eat.  There is no doubt in my mind that I consumed over 6000 calories that day between all 3 Michelin starred restaurants.

To cap of an amazing night, the owners of Don Alfonso invited us to join them for a tour of their wine cellar.  Their wine cellar dates back 2500 years - BEFORE Christ.  So, I totally made sure to touch every wall on the way down just because I could.  At the very bottom, there was a well with a spiral staircase.  If you were brave enough to descend the 60 feet you could find cheese aging in the cellar, too!  THEY MAKE THEIR OWN CHEESE TOO???

2500 year old wine cellar

Homemade cheese at the bottom of the cellar well!

Oh, just $100,000 in wine right here...no big deal

The wine guy....surrounded by over $1M worth of wine (25,000 bottles)

Why yes, I would love a photo with the chefs....where's my hat???

I literally did not eat or drink for a day after this gluttonous adventure.  The food was amazing.  We consumed 7 Michelin Starred meals in 2.5 days...(are you allowed to add them up?)  My body actually protested the consumption, but I pushed back and made it through the night without getting sick. 

The last hoorah for my trip was Salvatore carrying my bag through the train station.  Who would have thought, a vagabond with a chauffeur and baggage handler?  

I feel so so fortunate to have such great friends all over the world.  I can't wait to reciprocate the warmth, generosity, and ferocious fun that is owed to all of you.  To my friends, supporters and family,
cheers to all of you.  When I'm not so vagabondy, I've got your back....

Here are a few more photos of the Amalfi coast that I took while were driving back from Ravello